哈丁總統在白宮裝設無線電：1922年2月8日

1922年2月8日是白宮的一個大日子。哈丁總統在這一天在白宮內裝設了收音機。在那個時候，無線電是白宮裡最熱門的科技產品。兩年之後，凱文‧柯立芝 (Calvin Coolidge) 後來則追隨哈丁總統，成為第一個在白宮內使用無線電廣播的總統。柯立芝慶祝華盛頓生日的演說，在美國各地共42個頻道播放著。

在這項歷史性的廣播之前，無線電在柯立芝的1924年總統選舉中也扮演重要的角色，並讓柯立芝獲得勝利。就在選舉日的前一晚，許多人都在收音機前收聽柯立芝的最後一次競選演說，柯立芝也因此創下歷史。柯立芝輕鬆贏得選舉，到了3月，美國人則第一次從收音機裡聽到總統宣誓就職的全程情況。


February 8, 1922, was a big day at the White House. On this day President Harding had a radio installed. At the time, radio was the hottest technology there was, and the White House was on the cutting edge. Almost two years later, Calvin Coolidge, who followed Harding, was the first president to broadcast from the White House. Coolidge's address for Washington's Birthday was heard on 42 stations from coast to coast.

Before that historic broadcast, radio had played a big role in Coolidge's victory in the 1924 presidential election. The night before the election, Coolidge made history when the largest radio audience ever tuned in to the broadcast of his final campaign speech. Coolidge won the election easily, and in March, Americans listened for the first time to their president take the oath of office on the radio.

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